May I?
by La Moonlight Lily
Summary: She'd been waiting for the one that would make her feel this way. That tenacious, profound, lingering emotion that no words can encompass. And now that she had, it had to be the one person she could not let into her heart. ItaSaku Soulmate A/U. Non-Mass. Rating subject to change.
1. Misconceptions

_**A/N:**_ Hi hi! It's been a while (sorry) and I've only just gotten the inspiration to write again, which is why this baby is here. This was originally meant to be a long one-shot, but it didn't feel like one halfway through, so it's going to be multi-chap... I'm completely in love with ItaSaku and this is one of many ItaSaku fics to come (hopefully) and I seriously hope I can do it justice.

This whole thing is dedicated to Nadine25 who is the main driving factor and inspiration for me writing again. You should check out her story Unholy Matrimony, it's brilliant., and also to littlebirdrobin on tumblr who has been very motivating and supporting, and her story Pretty Cherry Blossom is also a wonderful read.

Now that I've rambled too much, on to the story!

* * *

"You're staring at her again."

Shisui looked at his cousin with something akin to exasperation, mentally letting out a frustrated groan.

Itachi did not even bother giving him a glance. He groaned out loud this time.

"Itachi," he snapped his fingers in front of his cousin's face, startling the younger male, who discreetly scrambled to regain his composure.

"Itachi," Shisui sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We talked about this."

He stared at his companion, who only lowered his eyes to his hands, both tightly gripping a glass of whiskey, still silent.

Shisui raised his eyes to Itachi's cause of fascination, watching as she rested her head on her blonde friend's shoulder – Yamanaka, was it? – warm, cheerful laughter bubbling from her mouth as they watched Naruto spit his drink in his other little cousin's face, Sasuke torn between cleaning up or pummelling his friend into the ground first.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Itachi raise his glass to his lips and down the rest of his whiskey, taking out his wallet to throw a couple of ryo on the table before standing up.

"Let's go."

The finality in his tone caused Shisui to immediately spring up, filled him with an air of relief. They quickly made their way through the number of shinobi filling the bar, passing by the youngsters' table on the way. There was no way they wouldn't notice them now.

"Shisui-san!" Sakura piped up when they neared the table, sitting up to greet him.

Itachi stiffened, Sasuke glared, and Shisui had to force himself to grin brightly at the girl as if his two cousins weren't just about to jump each other at the throat.

"Why hello there, Sakura-chan!" he leaned against table slightly, standing in front of Itachi. "It's been a while since I saw you around."

"Oh you were going to get a visit from me soon enough." The girl smirked at him, making him sigh inwardly.

"Oh?"

"Someone has to drag you to your monthly check-up, yes?" She was still smiling but her eyes narrowed at him slightly, "the one you're _three months_ late for?"

He huffed out a laugh, rubbed the back of his neck.

"No need to get violent, Sakura-chan. I'll drag myself over to the hospital first thing in the morning."

She looked slightly placated, but shifted her eyes to his cousin, still standing stiff behind him. The dark-haired man rolled his eyes.

"I'll drag him along too," Shisui said with a small laugh, "now can you quit eyeing me with such murderous intent?"

Sakura's eyes brightened with mirth and she let out a small giggle, running his fingers through her soft, pink locks.

"Fine. Only because I'm in too good of a mood to torture you tonight. Would you join us for a dri-"

"No."

Their eyes snapped to the person sitting across from her.

"Sasuke, don't be rude!"

"We were all about to leave anyway."

Shisui watched his cousin and his teammate for a moment. Sasuke pinned the girl with a hard look. She returned it with a dirty one, looking more annoyed with him than Shisui thought she would be. The two blonds at the table shot each other a slightly alarmed look, seemingly understanding of the perhaps not-so-strange situation.

Well, he wasn't about to get between them. He already had one walking mess to deal with.

"It's alright Sakura-chan. Itachi and I were just leaving actually. We had a long day and we'll need our rest if we're getting those check-ups tomorrow." Shisui gave her a small smile and watched as she dragged her eyes back to him, a frown pinching her eyebrows together, giving him a little nod.

"Come on, I'll walk you home." Sasuke said softly, standing up and holding his hand out for her, looking slightly apologetic. Their two companions stood slowly after them.

"Well, I'll see you soon then. Good night, everyone." Shisui didn't wait for them to respond, only heard their murmured goodnights while he stalked to the door, Itachi hot on his heels.

It was a long, silent walk to the Uchiha compound, one Shisui was more than used to by now to feel uncomfortable anymore

* * *

She was upset with him, Sasuke could tell. He didn't even mean to be that aggressive. He just didn't want to put a damper on her good mood after they'd worked so damn hard to get her there.

He sighed. It seemed he couldn't get things right with her on this, no matter what he did.

"Sakura-"

"Shut it Sasuke."

Okay, she was definitely more than a little bit upset.

"Sakura, I'm just trying to look out for you-"

"I know, Sasuke," she interrupted again, softer this time. "I know."

She leaned into him slightly as they walked, and he was grateful for it, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry."

"I know," she said again and put her head on his shoulder, felt him sigh again.

"I won't keep him away anymore if that's what you want-"

"I don't want to talk about it Sasuke," his teammate interrupted in a tone that clearly said there was no arguing with her. He didn't mind that much.

"Okay. I'm sorry." He kissed the top of her head and squeezed her shoulders lightly. She appreciated the comfort it provided for a moment.

They kept on walking in awkward silence, until she decided to look up at him.

"How's Hanabi?"

If he was grateful for the diversion, he didn't show it. Instead, he gave her an awkward smile.

"She's alright. Still getting used to the whole situation."

"Is her father still raging about how she's being shackled down to an Uchiha?"

Sasuke chuckled. "He's… coming around, I think. She said he hasn't been shooting as many daggers at them lately as he usually does."

The female under his arm giggled and wrapped an arm around his waist. "The poor man. To have both his daughters become soulmates to someone who is not a Hyuuga must've been more of a shock than he could handle."

"He wasn't that bad with Hinata." Sasuke sighed and Sakura nodded a bit at his words. "He already knew since they were kids that they wouldn't end up with anyone in their clan, their marks never matched. And Naruto and Hinata knew they were soulmates since they were five or something so he'd already made peace with that by the time we discovered our bond." He ran a hand through his messy hair. Made it even messier, if that was possible.

"It's the fact that I'm an Uchiha more than anything that made him fly off his handle. Hanabi said he almost had a heart attack when she told him."

They laughed at the image, both able to clearly imagine Hyuuga Hiashi red-faced and short of breath after shouting for hours and hours about how his daughter couldn't possibly end up with a man in their primary rival clan. A man from its main branch at that.

"I'm sure Hyuuga-sama wasn't the only person who almost had a heart attack at the news," she teased and he grinned devilishly at her.

"My father wasn't too pleased, no. But you know how my mother could be when she decides to work her magic."

Sakura nodded. "Hai hai." She was more than familiar with the leverage Uchiha Mikoto has over her husband. Over her entire Uchiha household, actually. She didn't think any of the three other occupants of the main house dared defy their matriarch's wishes at any point.

"And it's not even like we chose this, you know?" Sasuke continued, "they both know that you end up with whoever has your mark and that's that. The fact that most of the clan members in our case happen to find their soulmates from within the clan is the exception, not the rule. We can't really decide that we'll both live miserably till the end of our days just because our clans can't stand each other."

"No you can't."

Sasuke realised his mistake a moment too late, and scrambled to apologise when he saw her face fall slightly. She pinched his side and smiled teasingly at him before he could, however.

"And how are _you_ feeling about this? Still giving her a verbal beating every time you see her?"

Sasuke scowled, but there was no ill feeling behind it. "It was only the first two times! And it's not my fault that the first words my soulmate was supposed to say to me were an insult!"

"Yeah, she is quite the spitfire, isn't she? Goes well with her name." Sakura grinned up at him and he sighed, poking her side to make her squirm.

"Yes, she's very intense, and so am I, so we tend to clash a lot. But I'm getting used to it. It's only been a month since we knew, but we're making an effort to have calmer discussions whenever we disagree and all. We've been doing well, I think."

They rounded a corner and passed the familiar fruit stand at the beginning of Sakura's street, their pace unconsciously slowing down as they neared her house.

She was silent for a few moments before she spoke again, her tone subdued this time.

"Do you think you could be happy with her?"

Sasuke looked down at her and found her staring ahead, that familiar sadness back in her eyes. He squeezed her closer to him.

"It's too early to tell, but I think we're making progress. She's making an effort and we're opening up to each other a bit. Slowly, but… Yeah… Yeah, I think we could be happy, at some point."

She didn't speak again until they reached her building a minute or two later. She squirmed away from his hold and stood facing him, a warm smile on her face.

He could see her making an effort not to cry.

"I'm happy for you Sasuke," she almost whispered, taking a step towards him and wrapping her arms around his middle, "I really am."

He hugged her tightly, pressing a kiss against her temple. "Thank you. It means a lot."

She gave him one final squeeze and pulled back, walking backwards to the gate. "Good night, Sasuke-kun."

"Good night," he said and watched as she turned around and started climbing the steps to the door.

"Sakura."

She turned around, looked at him with curious eyes.

"He'll come. I promise."

Sakura smiled sadly at her best friend. Willed herself to hold it together.

"I hope so, Sasuke."

With that, she turned around again, taking the steps up to her apartment two at a time.

* * *

She managed to hold off the tears until she got to her bedroom.

Or, more accurately, until she started taking her clothes off.

She peeled off her shirt, a crisp black fabric that contrasted sharply against her vibrant pink hair. Throwing it on the bed, Sakura stood in front of her full length mirror and ran her fingers over the tattoo on her right hip bone.

It had been there since she was born, and she couldn't remember the burning feeling it made as it appeared on her skin. It remained too tiny to read on her small body, the letters squashed together in an unintelligible script until she turned nine. It was Ino who finally managed to read the words when they were splashing in the pool at the Yamanaka estate, squealing when she glimpsed the short, clear line visible on her hip.

"Sakura-chan, look! You can see it now!"

Young Sakura had forgotten all about checking her tattoo for a while, too busy trying to keep up with her lessons at the Academy and fending off bullies with Ino. The girls pulled themselves up to sit at the edge of the pool after that, staring at her soulmate mark, written in beautiful, neat handwriting.

 _May I kiss you?_

The girls blushed and squealed childishly, their eyes excited and dreamy at the prospect of a prince charming asking for permission for a kiss. They kept screaming excitedly until Ino's mother came in and yelled at them to tone it down.

They stayed up late that night, curled in bed trying to figure out who Sakura's prince charming might be. They already knew that he must be older since Sakura was born with her soulmate's first words to her already branded on her skin, so he must've been born by the time she was. Excluding half of the boys in their year because they were at least a few months younger, and then half of those that remained because Sakura's already talked to them before and none of them asked to kiss her, the girls kept on throwing in the name of every handsome boy in Konoha, giggling and speculating over Sakura's mystery man.

They kept on guessing until they were well into their teenage years, half of their friends having already met their other halves by then.

"Maybe it's a girl," Naruto said once, promptly getting smacked on the back of his head by a laughing Sakura and Ino.

"What?!" he cried defensively, rubbing his offended head and looking at the girls with an affronted expression, "the handwriting's too pretty for it to be a guy!"

"Oh yeah? And how did you know it was pretty handwriting?!" Sakura mock-growled at him, making him blush and hide his red cheeks from her view. Sakura laughed at him and patted his shoulder.

"Not that I'm not okay with the concept, but I'm not really into girls at the moment."

He blushed even harder at the thought, while the rest of the group snickered at him.

"I personally think he's a man. A very polite and courteous gentleman," Tenten said, taking a sip of her milkshake.

Ino snorted. "Well that excludes half of Konoha."

They laughed again, until Sasuke nudged her lightly with his elbow.

"He _could_ be from another village, you know," he murmured and Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Might not even be a shinobi," Naruto threw in, which made her eyes widen a little.

"Kami, I hope not!" She tucked her hair back behind her ear. "I would like him to at least be on the same page as I am when it comes to that path of life."

The rest of the group agreed, none of them fond of the idea of having to abandon their shinobi lifestyle, before moving on with the conversation to the upcoming jounin exams.

Her friends kept on coming across their lovers one by one, until all who remained were her and Sasuke.

And it was fine. Really. The thought of meeting her soulmate was nice, especially if he was as romantic as the script on her hip says. But she was too distracted by keeping up with the Godaime's lessons and catching up to her teammates to dwell on it much. It would happen when it was supposed to, she told herself.

It was fine until she started noticing the mysterious black eyes following her around. When she was training, when she was healing, even when she was walking through the market with Ino, catching up on the latest gossip.

She would feel the familiar prickle down her spine, and somehow manage to turn her head in the right direction to where his face was.

The first few times this happened, it left her shaken. As a kunoichi, being watched never sat well with her. The fact that it was Uchiha Itachi watching her made it even more unnerving.

He looked at her with an intensity that scared her, the darkness of his irises scanning every inch of her as if she were a puzzle, and he was trying to put her together, figure her out, just by training that fierce gaze on her. And every time she would turn her head and see him fixing her with that look, she would shiver and turn away as quickly as she could without showing signs of unease.

But then one time she caught his eye and he smiled at her. A shy, crooked thing, like he wasn't sure if he was doing it right or not. And Sakura melted.

It was like he was letting her in on a little secret, one that no one knows about him except for her. And instead of turning away from him like before, Sakura took to following him around with her eyes as well, eager to unravel him as he was slowly unravelling her, each secret slowly making itself known in the form of a beautiful expression on his face.

Sakura and Itachi played this game of cat and mouse for a while, each of them making their presence known to the other as frequently and discreetly as they could, their public interactions few and usually without words, preferring to speak through whoever was accompanying them, but then exchanging those warm looks and secret smiles from a distance with those around them being none the wiser.

It was almost as if they were too scared of facing the inevitable, excited but nervous of that wonderful confrontation they'd been aching for. She knew deep in her heart that soon, she would wait no more, that it would no longer just be distant smiles and hurried touches in passing, and she knew that Itachi knew that as well. And it only took a few more weeks before it happened.

The first time Itachi spoke his words to her, Sakura froze, unable to compose herself at the sound of his calm tenor near her ear. For some reason he chose to approach her while Sasuke was there, and her teammate was gaping at the both of them and she was blushing and scrambling for a response, before she stammered an excuse at them and ran off like the idiot that she was.

For the following few days, she could feel two sets of ebony on her at all times, not one. One anxious, the other confused.

It took some courage for Sakura to be able to look at Itachi again, finding him near the Hokage's office as she was heading inside to help her mentor with paperwork, him leaving the office with a mission scroll. They stared each other down for a long minute, her green hues mirroring his intertwined happiness and distress. It was a silent conversation, one they were too good at by now, and one that told them that their compulsion towards each other, while deliciously ferocious, was inevitably doomed. The circumstances were not in their favour.

Sakura could only give him a sad, watery smile and Itachi raised his fingers to her cheek hesitantly, running his knuckles over her smooth skin, then darting away before he could no longer control himself.

She wallowed in self-pity for the whole month Itachi was away, obviously miserable and subdued. Her friends tried unsuccessfully to pry the cause of her sadness out of her, Tsunade screamed at her to regain her focus during surgeries, only to soften and try and comfort her later when she saw the girl strangely on the verge of tears with each little comment she received.

The annoying insistence of her friends continued for two weeks then suddenly stopped, and Sakura could see them shoot her sympathetic, understanding looks and being extra nice to her whenever she would get lost in her own thoughts. She couldn't explain their sudden change of attitude, but then Sasuke knocked on her door one night, holding her favourite ice cream and a box of strawberries and Sakura instantly launched herself at him, soaking his shirt with tears she had been desperately trying to keep at bay since she last saw his brother.

He was weirdly tender with her, something she had rarely, if ever, seen from Sasuke. Held her for as long as she cried while running a comforting hand up and down her back and through her hair, and listened to her patiently as she dug into the tub of ice cream and told him what he had already known for a while, but he let her relieve her heartache anyway. She finally cried herself to sleep and he carried her to her bed, tucking her in snugly under the blankets, and took the long way home to get some air on the way.

He showed up the next morning too, bringing her some cheese croissants and chocolate pastries and making sure she showered and ate, before they set out to their usual team sparring session.

It was perhaps a blessing that Sakura had grown so close to Sasuke, even if it was under such unlucky circumstances and even if he seemed like the least likely person who could be so understanding and supportive and patient with her situation, but he was, and Sakura was grateful for it. Sasuke would always make sure to surprise her with some of her favourite treats, show up on the nights when she was feeling especially dreadful, and nudge her with a smile or give her a small one-armed hug whenever he saw her slip into the darkness of her mind. And it brought her comfort, to know that she was not alone in her heartache.

Itachi returned almost too soon for her to heal, though, and Sakura slipped into a foul mood again. But she couldn't help but respond to his looks and smiles again in due time. Only this time, it felt exciting because it felt forbidden, and they were more compelled to hide their actions not due to strange flirtation, but due to disapproval. And more misery if it goes on, but right then and there, they didn't care about anything except those quick stolen moments that they couldn't go beyond. A quick smile before someone would notice, a touch of their fingers as they passed each other in corridors, the occasional smouldering, intense look that only served to increase their desire to retreat to a dark abandoned corner and not leave until they were both thoroughly sated.

Sasuke knew, though. With him at Sakura's side at least half the day every day, and living with the other party of the problem, he was bound to notice. And he did not approve.

He would scowl at Itachi whenever he caught him trying to catch her attention, and would steer Sakura away from Itachi's way if he sensed him around. Soon, Shisui got involved as well, trying to control Itachi instead, and their scarcely existent moments became even less frequent. Sasuke even became quite standoffish with his brother when Itachi wouldn't abandon his attentions, the relationship between the two becoming more turbulent as Itachi's 'relationship' with Sakura continued.

"You need to stop, Itachi." Sakura heard Sasuke utter harshly after she and Naruto finished having dinner with his family. She was waiting for Sasuke to walk her home while Naruto helped with the dished in the kitchen, and went to check on Sasuke when she started getting impatient.

"Whatever you're doing, you just need to stop it."

"I fail to see how that concerns you, Sasuke."

"It concerns me because it concerns Sakura! You know that this can't happen! You know that you're just hurting her more by making this attachment grow!" She heard Sasuke take in what sounded like a deep, exasperated breath before he continued.

"I can't allow you to hurt her more than she's already hurting. I can't allow you to hurt _yourself_ more than this. You can't encourage her. She already has to endure the fact the someday, she's going to see you with someone else. And you're going to accept her eventually finding someone else as well. And you can't both do that if whatever it is that you're both doing continues."

Sakura almost ran back down to the kitchen. She had to walk slower so they couldn't hear her. And also so she could have time to compose herself before going back to Naruto and Mikoto.

Sasuke couldn't have been more right, and she knew it. It didn't mean that hearing that out loud wasn't still like a kunai to the heart.

It almost ceased after that. She no longer sought Itachi out with her eyes whenever she went, no longer went out of her way to frequent the same places he would so they could spend some time in proximity. And she could tell that he didn't either. It hurt too much for any meeting of their eyes to be longer deliberate, and should they find themselves staring, they would quickly avert their gaze as soon as they realised it, except for a few slips near-misses, like tonight at the bar. The combined efforts of Itachi's brother and cousin helped too.

And here she was, almost a year after that first time she caught him perusing her, standing in front of her mirror and crying pathetically at her stupid tattoo, wondering for the millionth time how she could somehow be so deeply in love with someone who was not her soulmate.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Well that wasn't very happy... I'm not sure if it's meant to be, either. I'm almost done with the whole thing, so I should be able to update soon (here's to hoping). Next, we see more of Itachi.

I hope you guys enjoyed this, and don't forget to let me know what you think! Try to be as detailed as you can, please, I'd love to know what I should change or continue doing so my readers could enjoy this more :3


	2. Contemplations

_**A/N:**_ Hi there! Sorry if this is late, my laptop had to be fixed and wasn't with me for most of last week. I hope you enjoy the new chapter!

* * *

Itachi flopped back onto the bed and rubbed his hand over his face, barely stifling a frustrated groan. It was barely ten in the morning and it already felt like a pretty long day. It didn't help that his cousin really had dragged him into the hospital almost two hours ago to get those check-ups Sakura had insisted on.

He tried so damn hard not to think about her.

It was so difficult when all it seemed like he could do is see her in anything he sees or hears every day. Whenever somebody brings up the hospital, she'd be the first image that pops into his mind. Whenever his mother said that Sasuke won't join them for dinner because he's training late, he'd see her in his mind's eye, beating his brother and their blond teammate within an inch of their lives. Hell, whenever he saw Kakashi in passing or one of the Konoha 11 or even when he went to receive a mission, he'd always think of the little pink-haired apprentice of the Hokage that he just so desperately wanted to lay eyes on.

Itachi never expected to feel so strongly about anyone, especially Haruno Sakura. She was always around since his brother became a genin, with him on the training grounds, around their house whenever his brother or his mother invite Sasuke's team for a meal, or even at that ramen stand Naruto always dragged them to. But she was never important, never worthy of a second glance. She was just his little brother's teammate who had pink hair and a possible infatuation with Sasuke, and Itachi has written her off as yet another overbearing female.

Until she decided to split the ground with her fist.

He didn't know what made her seek out the Hokage, but she had and was apparently well on her way to be Tsunade's almost-clone, with violent fists and an even more violent temper, if her scolding of the staff at the hospital and her teammates was anything to judge by. Itachi decided then that perhaps Haruno Sakura was more deserving of further contemplation that he first thought.

At first, he gave her an extra bit of attention because she intrigued him, because he wanted to see what she might be hiding behind her soft smiles and vibrant eyes. To see if she was really made out of something much stronger than her exterior made her out to be or if his initial judgement was correct and she would always just strive to catch up with everybody else around her.

She proved him wrong every time. He didn't know when or how it happened, but Sakura was suddenly a lot more mature, he could see that from hearing her speak with his mother as the years went by, her interests and ambitions no longer being boys and pretty faces. She was also a lot more confident, he could see that in the way she commanded the hospital at her young age, and the way she commanded the room during official meetings, even if she spoke little, and the way she commanded even the Hokage, always regulating the ratio of drinking to paperwork. And she was hell of a lot stronger, obviously judging by the frequent earthquakes that seemed to transpire in Konoha, and the bruises on Sasuke's face and body that she refused to heal whenever he annoyed her too much.

Itachi would take the chance to observe her if he ever came by her, curious to see how far she'd developed, if she would be able to meet the expectations he'd once again set for her. But then instead of just watching Sakura punch delinquents and crack grounds, he would often happen upon her comforting a young boy as she healed his broken arm, or making meals that Naruto could stock up on for the week so he wouldn't run out of food and have to only run on ramen (no matter how much he wanted to), or laughing as she slowly sipped a drink at the bar with the girls, her laughter lighting up her whole face with fond exasperation. And Itachi found himself wanting… more?

He wanted to know more about her, what food she liked and what books she read and how she managed to look so radiant almost every time he saw her even though he knew she was exhausted because of her training and the missions and the hospital work. And he wanted to know what put that smile on her face, because he wanted to see more of it. No, he wanted to put it there.

The first time that thought crossed Itachi's mind, he was surprised, and he was never easily so. It was stupid to feel attached to someone he barely knew; someone he'd never even talked to or acknowledged beyond the polite nods in passing when he had to. Itachi had always had such a tight leash on his emotions, and them starting to run wild and for someone so strange to him… It almost scared him. But he couldn't stop seeking her out still, and made it a point to quietly observe her from a distance, even after she noticed him and he knew she was uncomfortable with his stares, Itachi still could not help himself. And then Sakura started reciprocating his… whatever it was, and Itachi was completely lost.

She'd suddenly become around him a lot more than he had planned, and she would smile at him softly and Itachi would feel a strange fluttering in his chest. Sometimes, those smiles would be comforting, as if she felt it whenever he needed consolation. Sometimes they would be teasing or even downright sultry and inciting. Slowly, gradually, the urge to look became the urge to touch, to kiss, to _feel_ , to have more of her that was for him alone, like those smiles that he never saw her gift anybody else.

What Itachi had found strange before became somewhat clearer to him later. It was unnerving to feel so connected to her and develop those almost stalker-ish tendencies, but maybe, just maybe… Haruno Sakura could be his.

It made sense. His soulmate mark appeared a few months before Sasuke was born, so her age would fit. It wasn't unheard of for soulmates to feel a connection prior to discovering their bond, so that should also explain their strange interactions. And the happiness that had defiantly filled his being when he considered that possibility was something Itachi was willing to take as further proof.

There would be obstacles of course. He was the Uchiha heir, and the clan would certainly need some coaxing (or threatening in some cases) until they accepted her as their next matriarch. The other clans could even protest because of the power the Uchiha clan would gain further from this match. Having such close ties to the Hokage would not sit easy with those who sought a higher status or just simply did not want the Uchiha to gain it. None of that mattered though. If she truly _was_ his (and she was, he could somehow feel it), Itachi would not stop at anything to make her wholly his, and proceed to give her every part of himself in return, to _trust_ her with all of him.

He knew she felt it too. It showed in her eyes, that silent acknowledgment that he recognised easily. And Itachi almost felt feverish in his excitement to hear those words etched on his lower back come out of her mouth, hear her whisper _'stay with me Itachi'_ as he held her and showered her beautiful face with kisses.

She was adorably flustered when she suddenly found him close to her as she and Sasuke were sparring one day. His shock when her first words to him were not what he had expected pinned him in place instead of letting him go after her as she almost ran away from him and Sasuke, his little brother watching them both with confused but calculating eyes. Itachi had hastily excused himself then and bolted towards the Uchiha training field, where he was found hours later by Shisui almost mutilating an old gingko tree.

"So she's not…?" Shisui trailed off as they both sat down against tree, Itachi struggling to regain his breathing, and his composure.

He didn't ask his cousin how he knew of his thoughts before. It didn't matter after all.

"No," Itachi whispered harshly, his breath still ragged, "she isn't."

They didn't say anything further on the matter and Itachi reluctantly followed Shisui back to the compound to shower and dine with his family, before his cousin took him out again to the bar that night and they both proceeded to be thoroughly trashed.

It was a bit difficult for Itachi to keep his thoughts away from Sakura after, even after a whole month away from the village, and if he were to be honest with himself, he didn't want to. They fell back into that strange routine of theirs as soon as he got back until Sasuke interfered and they got into that stupid fight more times than he could count and Shisui had to interfere before the two brother took their argument to the training grounds one time. Ever since, Sasuke would be constantly near the pink-haired woman and Shisui would stick to Itachi as much as he could to buffer any accidental interactions and jump in the middle of his two cousins should they decide to voice their disagreement again, making it almost impossible for Itachi and Sakura to even steal longer than a glimpse at each other.

Itachi groaned and slammed his head back against the pillow. It's been almost a year now. Why he couldn't move on, he just did not understand. It's not like Sakura was encouraging him (unless you count the frowns on her face that he wanted to permanently erase), and not like anybody else wasn't actively discouraging him either. Hell, even his relationship with his brother had become frosty over this madness. Maybe if he repaired his relationship with his brother, it would help? He and Sasuke had always been close, and if they got back to where they were before, it would make him feel better? Better enough to stop brooding at least and move on with his life, and maybe then she could move on with hers.

He was about to sigh again when someone knocked on his door.

"Itachi-chan?" his mother called from the other side of the shoji screen, "are you awake?"

"Yes, Kaa-san."

"Come down for breakfast then! You left early so we had to eat without you, but I saved you your food."

"Yes, Kaa-san," he said again and sat up with a groan, untying and retying his hair before he followed his mother, who was already on her way to the kitchen.

He found her already heating up the rice and soup, some saury being freshly grilled, and Itachi sat down at the table when she batted away his hands after he tried to take over from her. It only took a few more minutes till his mother was laying the table and he began to eat.

Itachi must have been hungrier than he thought because he sat there for several minutes, quietly devouring his food and trying to not burn his tongue again on the hot soup, and looked up to see her staring intently at him with her chin resting in her palm. He raised an eyebrow and went back to his food when she didn't comment right away. It didn't take her long though.

"You've been sulking lately," Mikoto observed quietly. Itachi only raised an eyebrow again and continued to eat.

"Is it Sakura-chan again?"

Itachi froze. His eyes snapped up to hers and they stared at each other for one long moment before Itachi smiled wearily.

"Am I that obvious?"

"Not at first," Mikoto admitted. "But I still knew from the beginning."

"Can't keep anything from you, can I?" He said dryly and his mother laughed a little.

"I would've thought you learned not to try years ago, but you're stubborn as always."

She laughed again as her son grumbled under his breath, something that sounded like 'no privacy in this house' and turned serious again.

"So?" Mikoto tucked her hair behind her ear. "What's the issue with the two of you?"

Itachi watched her for a moment. "Do you have to make me say it?"

"Well it's not like I know everything!" his mother grumbled, "I have my theories, but you need to confirm them."

"And they are?"

"Well…" She looked down at her hands. "At first I thought you'd found your mate and were stalling for time until you sorted everything out with the clan. But then you didn't approach your father and I couldn't see any obvious efforts with the council."

"Maybe I'm just waiting for the right time?" He countered.

"That still can't explain Sasuke's hostile attitude. Or Shisui looking panicked almost every time you pass her in the village."

Itachi remained silent and Mikoto sighed.

"She's not your soulmate then, is she?"

"No."

Her son looked as if he had tasted something rotten. But they needed to have this conversation.

"Then what's the issue?"

"Kaa-san, I can't- "

"What's the issue, Itachi?" Mikoto's tone was unyielding.

"I don't know what the issue is." He ran his hand over his face, the chopsticks lying forgotten on the table.

"I thought she was my soulmate too. I was almost sure she was, I don't know how, but I just _knew_." He sounded frustrated. "But she isn't and it's just… I'm just…"

"You're just what?"

" _Angry_." Itachi almost growled and Mikoto's eyes softened.

"I shouldn't be, I know that," he said before she could say anything, "stray attractions are not uncommon, apparently, but it felt like so much more, and I'm just so angry… I'm angry that it happened, I'm angry that she's not my soulmate and I'm so angry that no matter what I do, I just can't stop!"

Itachi could see the hint of surprise in his mother's eyes before she composed herself. He didn't really care.

"You want her to be your soulmate," Mikoto almost whispered.

"Is that so wrong?"

"I wish it wasn't, Itachi-chan- "

"What's wrong about it, then?!" His voice rose slightly and he clenched his hands and took a deep breath.

"What makes it so wrong?" he repeated, softer this time, "why should a tattoo dictate my actions? My life? I can't pursue a woman that I want to so badly because of four words that no one's even come close to saying in twenty-four years."

"And what if you both become miserable?" Mikoto countered, "what if one of you or both of you meets their other half? What will you do then?"

"And what if we don't? What if we decide that this is what we both want, instead of conforming to some meaningless words?"

His mother was shaking her head as he spoke.

"You're talking this too far for someone who's practically a stranger to you, Itachi," Mikoto sighed. "You barely even know her."

"Don't you think I want to, Kaa-san?" Itachi ground out.

"Then talk to her," Mikoto offered, "maybe when you do, you could both realise that this is no more than an infatuation. You could even become friends."

' _If only I could'_ , Itachi mentally snorted. He couldn't exactly tell his mother that her calm, composed older child could barely stop himself from telling Sakura he wanted to kiss her whenever he tried to address her. Shisui had laughed at him for ten whole minutes when Itachi shared that particular piece of information with his cousin once. Something that he deeply, deeply regretted.

His mother kept her dark eyes trained on him. He could see her trying to gauge his thoughts behind that carefully stoic expression.

"Someday, Itachi…" she trailed off slightly. Took a deep breath and got up to sit beside him. "Someday, you'll find the one meant for you. And you'll realise how happy she can make you, how she can understand even the subtlest of expressions on your face and comfort you with the smallest look or slightest touch- "

' _Isn't that what I'm feeling right now?'_ Itachi thought to himself.

"-and you'll see how incomparable it is to anything you might be feeling right now," Mikoto continued as if she could hear his inner thoughts.

"And whoever she is, you'll accept her?" He found himself asking before he could stop himself. Might as well have that conversation to its fullest.

"Of course we will!" his mother insisted adamantly, "whoever is your match will be part of our family and that is that."

"The elders will object if she doesn't turn out to be an Uchiha- "

"And your father will scorch them alive before they can protest." He gave her a small smile and let her kiss him on the forehead and she got up to wash the rest of the dishes from the family's earlier meal.

"Finish your breakfast," she demanded with a smile, "I want to wash those dishes too while I'm at it."

Itachi silently complied, eating quickly before handing her the plates and putting on his sandals. He needed to blow off some steam.

* * *

The training grounds frequently used by Team 7 was unoccupied, leaving Itachi to mentally list the probable locations he needed to check while hunting down its members.

The Hokage office was empty, save for one comatose Hokage lying face down on her desk. Itachi closed the door quietly to avoid waking the older woman up and having to endure a brutal assault to his ears that early in the morning. The ramen bar that Naruto practically lived in was, very surprisingly, free from said blond individual. The Yamanaka flower shop was only just being opened by the Yamanaka girl, who told him she hadn't seen any of the Team 7 members since they left the bar the night before, but maybe he should check the hospital (which he definitely was not. If only to not step foot in that place twice in one day).

He was passing by the onsen when a flash of orange caught his eye, and Itachi retreated a few steps to find the blond jinchuuriki heading inside. He followed him inside to find him sneaking with a towel over his shoulder, in the process of forming familiar hand seals (ones that Itachi desperately wished he hadn't been so familiar with) and almost pounced on the younger man just in time to stop him from transforming into a naked female, probably scaring a number of employees inside in the process.

"What the hell?!" Naruto almost squealed and jumped out of his skin. Itachi had to suppress a smirk as he held the other man steady by the shoulders.

"What are you doing here?!" the blond shouted at Itachi, almost accusingly, who responded by raising an eyebrow.

"This is the entrance to the women's side, you know," Naruto continued, pointing out the sign on the shoji screen. Itachi only lifted his eyebrow higher.

"Err… Well…" Naruto laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to avoid the raven-haired man's eyes. "I was on my way to the other bath, you know."

"Of course you were, Naruto-kun," Itachi responded in a cool tone.

"Well, what do you want then?" the blond tried to sound cold and angry, but only succeeded in appearing more flustered.

He had always been quite amusing. Itachi led him to the corner of the room.

"Have you seen Sasuke today?"

"Sasuke! Yes! Well he- oh…"

"He…?" Itachi prodded and Naruto shifted nervously from one foot to the other.

"He as in Sasuke…" Naruto trailed off again and Itachi almost sighed.

"Yes, Sasuke…?"

"Breakfast!"

"He already had breakfast, Naruto-kun."

"Oh, he took Sakura-chan out for breakfas- eep!" The blond squealed again and Itachi had to stop himself from laughing.

"Any idea on when they would be done, then?" he asked instead.

"Oh I don't know," Naruto frowned in thought. "He said something about buying Hanabi a birthday gift and infuriating demanding women."

Ah. Another time then.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," Itachi tilted his head slightly to the young man. "Do you know if he's planning on meeting Hanabi later though?"

"No idea. Why?"

"I might let him know to let her know that you were trying to get into the women's bath. I'm sure her older sister would be most amused at the situation- "

"You wouldn't dare!"

"-no peeking, Naruto-kun," Itachi finished with a smirk, transporting himself out of the establishment before the blond could make another comment.

He found himself back at the Uchiha compound, chasing after his cousin's chakra signature until he found him escorting his fiancée out of her home. He picked up his pace until he reached the two of them.

"Itachi!" Reika, a distant cousin of theirs and Shisui's intended, cried happily as he stood in front of them, "it's good to see you! Do you want to get some dango with us- "

"Excuse us please, Reika," Itachi interrupted her greeting and grabbed his cousin by the arm, transporting both of them to the Uchiha training grounds.

"What the hell Itachi!" Shisui sounded most affronted at being taken against his will, and away from Reika, whom Itachi knew Shisui hadn't seen for almost a week while she was on a mission.

Itachi didn't bother to respond, though. He only whirled around as soon as they steadied on the ground and proceeded to punch his cousin square in the face.

* * *

"I hate you."

The words came out as a harsh pant as both men lay on the ground gasping for breath after a strenuous, surprise spar. Itachi had gone all out and Shisui was not one to be taken by surprise _and_ be outmatched. He definitely gave his cousin a good beating, if his ragged breathing and vigorous coughs were anything to judge by.

"No you don't," Itachi managed to get out before another fit of coughs claimed him for the next half a minute.

"What the fuck was that about, you idiot?" Shisui kicked his cousin in the shin. Itachi kicked back.

"I needed a good spar. Sasuke had a prior engagement."

"Oh so you two are all fine and dandy now?" Shisui turned his head to observe the younger man, who kept his eyes up on the sky, blood red slowly fading back to onyx black.

"Not yet," Itachi admitted between pants. "But we're going to be after that spar, as soon as I can get a hold of him."

Shisui snorted. "Sure. Beat your brother up and he'll go back to behold you like the sun shined out of your ass."

"It's always been a special bond."

"One that you somehow believe extends to me now." Shisui laughed and shook his head slightly, smoothing his hair back with both hands, before folding them under his head.

They lay in silence for a few minutes, their bodies cooling in the chilly spring breeze.

"So?" Shisui asked again, "what was that really about?"

Itachi did not respond right away, and his cousin almost gave up after a while and let the younger man ignore him, as he sometimes did.

"Have you ever felt anything for any woman other than Reika?"

Shisui groaned and slapped a hand over his face.

"Are we having this conversation again? Really?"

"It's just a question," Itachi murmured and his companion scowled.

"It's not just a question, and you know it." Shisui sighed and took a few moments to think.

"I could certainly appreciate other women, you know that," he finally said, "and at certain points, I even thought that it was a shame one woman or another didn't say the right words because she would've been perfect as my soulmate. But then, when I met Reika at that party it was just… different."

"Different how?"

"Oh you have to be a pain, don't you?" Shisui scowled, but continued anyway. "For starters, I've never been compelled to be with someone like I am with her. And she can understand me at a much deeper level than anyone else could."

"Does she make you happy?" The question came out as quiet murmur, almost hesitant.

"Of course she does. I mean, we have our fights and disagreements, but there's just that level of communication that gets us through them."

"Does she know how to comfort you? Maybe even with a look that could calm you down after a bad day, or- "

"Yes, yes she does, and you're going to stop being so weird and sappy, or Kami-sama help me, I _will_ kick you in the balls!" Shisui closed his eyes and tried unsuccessfully to tune out his cousin's quiet chuckles.

"Just what is wrong with you today Itachi?" He added as an afterthought.

"It's always a pleasure to see you squirm, dear cousin."

"Fuck you."

"I'm not sure Reika would appreciate that." Itachi had to stifle an _oomph_ as Shisui elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"On second thought," he smirked, "I don't think you'd appreciate it either. I don't have enough curves."

"One of these days, I'll send you home in a body bag," his cousin grumbled and sat up to lean against the tree standing tall behind them, "and if Auntie Mikoto asks, I'll tell her you finally decided to rid the poor world of your wretched existence."

"She'll see right through you and gouge your own eyes out and Amaterasu you with them."

"You're all crazy…" Itachi ignored his best friend and smiled serenely at the clouds above him. No matter what his mother insisted, no matter what the words scripted on his skin said, he knew deep inside of him that Haruno Sakura was meant for him. That she would make him as happy as Reika made Shisui, and calm and comfort him as his mother did his father, and he would do the same and so much more for her.

Uchiha Itachi was going to damn well make that woman his. And if anyone disapproved… Well, no said they had to know.

* * *

Don't forget to let me know what you think :3 Until next chapter!


	3. Decisions

_**A/N:**_ Hai yas I'm alive! Pls don't hate me. This chapter needed a lot of thinking to get through, but I made sure to make it extra long to compensate for the wait! There's a lot going on here and it's pretty much an extra emotional rollercoaster (at least it was for me), but I hope that you like it!

Also, to the lovely guest who reviewed the last chapter, yes the tattoo is the first thing that they should say to one another. Enjoy :3

* * *

Sakura yawned as she stretched tiredly, bending backwards over the back of her chair. The sun was just beginning to set, but Sakura found herself giddy with triumph. She'd been working with Shizune for the past month on developing a jutsu to accelerate bone healing, seeing as how most of their village's occupants flooded their village daily to treat injuries ranging from fractured toes to a full-on pelvic reconstruction.

It didn't help that the majority of Konoha's shinobi -or any shinobi really- were always too impatient and headstrong to cooperate and let their injuries heal properly. The fact that the missions needed to sustain the village were also too many to complete with the rate of injuries occurring made their dear old Hokage quite cranky too. And a cranky Hokage meant exhausted, overworked apprentices who had almost incessant headaches from dealing with a tipsy, irritated superior who constantly shouted out her frustrations at the two of them. When poor Shizune almost burst into tears once from all the stress, Sakura suggested that they try to find a solution to their predicament. It managed to placate Tsunade slightly, and gave the two women something to focus on other than fiery blondes and paperwork. And silky-haired Uchiha prodigies.

"I think this is it, Sakura-chan!" Shizune's smile was so infectious and Sakura herself found it hard not to beam brightly at the older woman.

"Now we just need to test it," Shizune continued, looking over some of their notes from the day, "It's been effective enough on the test material, now we just need an actual human with actual broken bones."

Sakura grinned at her. "Give me an hour and I'll get you two of those."

Shizune looked exasperated. "It is generally not advised to crack your own teammates' skeletons, Sakura."

"Not when they're as annoying as mine!" Sakura said with a laugh. "Besides, the two idiots are probably slamming each other's faces into the ground as we speak. It's an opportunity that we shouldn't pass up, really."

"Tomorrow, then," Shizune countered, "we've been very productive today, I think we deserve to clock out early. And if you're as tired as I am, you'll need at least a long bath and a good night's sleep before you even have the mind to deal with a patient."

"You're just going to talk Genma-san into giving you a massage tonight, aren't you?" Sakura smirked at her. The older woman smiled slightly in return.

"Can you blame me?"

She really couldn't. Genma was infamous for giving the best massages in Konoha -among other things that Sakura could not mention without resembling a red beet- and if she wasn't such good friends with his wife, she'd be constantly bullying him into helping her relax her tightly wound muscles. She'd been aching for a massage that good ever since she received one from him after a particularly rough mission that left her neck pretty tense the whole way back. Her neck had never felt so good since.

"Go home to your husband, Shizune-san," Sakura had started organising their notes in stacks, "and I'll make sure I show up with two already shattered morons tomorrow."

Before Shizune could respond, a knock sounded at the door, which opened at Shizune's permission to whoever it was to enter. When a shock of blond hair greeted them, the two women couldn't help but burst into giggles.

"Couldn't you have mentioned a million ryo instead, Sakura-chan?" Shizune joked and Sakura sighed in mock-disappointment.

"Shishou's luck is rubbing off on me." She was pouting and Naruto looked confused for a second before his brain caught on.

"Saying good things, I hope?" He was grinning and making his way around the desk towards her. She smirked back at him.

"Of course not, you dummy," Sakura said very matter-of-factly and laughed as her friend just rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around her smaller frame in a giant bear hug. One which Sakura welcomed greatly.

"What brings you here? Are you hiding from Hinata? Did you upset her again?" she couldn't help but tease when Naruto set her down, and he almost pouted at her.

"Sakura-chaaan!" he whined in protest and Sakura giggled and ruffled his messy hair in apology.

"Sasuke-teme wanted me to tell you that he wants us over at his place tomorrow for dinner," he explained, "Hanabi's coming over and he doesn't want her to feel awkward, so we're going. Hinata too."

Sakura frowned.

"Won't that make her feel more awkward?" she pondered aloud. "I mean, we could get pretty carried away sometimes, and she hasn't known us for as long as we've known each other. I don't want her to feel left out."

Naruto shrugged. "Better than having her alone with an emotionless bastard and his terrifying father."

"Good point," Sakura quickly agreed, nodding to as though to emphasise it more to herself. "So we should be there, say around 7?"

"Yep! Hinata and I could pass by and we could all walk there together, if you want."

"No that's okay." Sakura shook her head slightly. "I'll probably come straight from here and it's closer to the compound anyway, so you guys don't need to make a detour."

"Okay then!" Naruto gave her one of those always-sunny smiles and she couldn't help but smile at his excitement. He bent to give her another hug, telling here that he couldn't wait to see her tomorrow before he excused himself to Shizune and left the two women back to their interrupted discussion. Sakura couldn't blame him, really. It _had_ been a while since he's gotten to properly spend time with her. And even when he did, she was usually all gloomy and depressive. She could always see how hurt he was that he couldn't cheer her up, no matter what he did. But Sakura wasn't going to think about that now.

"I'll clean up, Shizune-san," she said instead, returning to the scattered papers all over their desks. "We could check the orthopaedic ward tomorrow morning, see if there are any patients willing to be our test subjects."

The brunette looked grateful to be finally leaving their shared office. She murmured her thanks and slipped quickly out the door, leaving a suddenly more tired Sakura to sigh and gather everything into a chronological order so that they wouldn't be lost when they need to review their findings.

Opening the top drawer to her desk, Sakura was about to deposit the now neatly organised notes and articles inside, when something caught her eye.

There was something there that hadn't been inside this morning.

Frowning, she picked up the offending object, practically throwing the contents of her hands into the drawer and slamming it shut. She examined the item in her hand, a thin white envelope, plain but for her name scribbled upon it in an oddly familiar script.

The furrow between her eyebrows growing deeper, Sakura sat in her desk chair and proceeded to carefully split the paper open.

* * *

The next morning, Sakura ran into Ino at the hospital, who informed her that she had run into Sasuke the night before and had gotten herself invited to their dinner.

"He sounded so nervous," Ino had told her. "Said he wanted me there because we hadn't all had a nice get together in ages and he wanted you to have fun."

Sakura had frowned a little at her words. Wasn't he doing this for Hanabi and not her? It was getting a little confusing.

"I think he's trying to distract himself from Hanabi's presence?" Ino had considered. "He sounded weirdly intimidated that she was going to be there, it's not like him at all."

It's true. It wasn't like Sasuke. She'd have to punch some answers out of him later.

All in all, what was supposed to be a Team 7 plus the Hyuuga sisters gathering became a slightly-out-of-control gathering with the addition of Ino, who brought Shikamaru along, and Neji who claimed that he couldn't possibly let his two precious cousins be present on their own. And suddenly, what had begun as a bonding dinner became a dining room full of everyone and their soulmate, with the exception of her and Neji, and Sakura was more than a little overwhelmed by the time they'd all finished their food.

It wasn't too bad, since the calm that Neji and Shikamaru offered balanced out the boisterousness at the table. And Ino, bless her, forward, charismatic Ino didn't waste any time playfully baiting and joking with Hanabi, and the younger girl was comfortably being her lively, confident self with the rest of the group in no time.

It was fun and she laughed more than she usually did for the past few months, and she was glad that Sasuke's stiff form was beginning to loosen up bit by bit, but there were too may Shikamaru-wrapping-his-arm-around-Ino or Naruto-and-Hinata-being-super cute moments for _Sakura_ to loosen up entirely.

Quietly excusing herself, she slipped out of the dining room and made her way up to Sasuke's room. It had been something they'd done since they were kids, climb from Sasuke's window up to the roof and spend the rest of their time there until they had to go home. Sometimes they would plan missions, sometimes they'd just sit there with their mugs of hot chocolate, away from the loud bustle of Konoha.

Her pink strands danced softly to the wind, just a light breeze that barely made her skin erupt in gooseflesh. Just what she liked. She'd barely gotten to cross her legs underneath her when she heard a light thump behind her.

"Almost thirteen years, and this is the first time I've known that you were a fan of house parties," Sakura teased, her eyes closed.

She could almost _hear_ Sasuke roll his eyes, if that made any sense. He plopped himself beside her and they sat in silence for minutes.

"I don't know what I'm doing," Sasuke whispered suddenly. Sakura opened her eyes a fraction, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

He was sitting cross-legged as well, almost seeming like he was meditating. But Sakura knew him better than that. She knew that close-to-invisible rigidity to his shoulders, the almost negligible lock of his jaw.

She couldn't find anything to say. She didn't know what she was doing herself, after all. That, and the fact that two more thumps resounded behind them not long after.

"It hasn't been two hours, and you two are already sulking up here?" Ino's tone was playful, carefully concealing her concern for the two of them. Sakura opened her eyes to see her blonde friend shove Sasuke aside with her foot, him scowling at her before scooting over to Sakura and letting Ino sit on his other side. Naruto had already sat himself across from them, the four of them forming a crooked semicircle.

"How did you know we were up here?" Sakura raised a thin eyebrow at Ino. The blonde snorted.

"Only had to follow this idiot up here. He seemed to know where to go." Naruto looked ready to protest at being called an idiot, but only sighed with a resigned, but fond look on his face. Sakura uncrossed her legs and spread them in front of her, settling them in Naruto's lap.

"So?" She didn't need to specify who her question was directed towards. The four of them were already on the same page.

When Sasuke didn't respond right away, Ino poked him in the ribs with her elbow.

"Speak up, Uchiha," she poked him again, "we've got three stuck up Hyuuga and one ruffled pineapple head down in your dining room. We probably have only five minutes before they walk in on your parents trying to find us and get us all thrown out."

"Hinata is _not_ stuck up, you bimbo," Naruto _did_ protest this time, throwing a weird nut lying on the roof at her. Ino stuck her tongue out at him. He just huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Neither is Hanabi, for the matter," Sasuke stated quietly, regaining the attention of his three companions. "She's just…"

"What?" Sakura's tone was much quieter this time. Sasuke looked so strange to her at that moment. Almost as if he was the one needing comfort for a change. She scooted closer to him and wrapped her arms around his torso, pulling his head down to rest on her shoulder.

"I don't know if I can make her happy," he mumbled into her shoulder. "I don't know if _I_ can be happy."

"Did something happen?" Naruto sounded alarmed, and Sasuke groaned in response and stuffed his face deeper into Sakura's sleeve.

"That's the thing," he sighed, "nothing happened. Nothing at all. I can't feel anything beyond what I do for any other person I have no personal feud with. There's no connection, no spark like I thought we might have had in the beginning.

"And we just sit there, not knowing what to talk about other than the best way to sharpen kunai," Sasuke continued. Sakura and Ino's eyes connected over his head, a look of understanding passing between them.

"I can feel that she's starting to get attached somehow, and she's been trying so hard, I know she has, and she's been trying to catch my interest in anything but I can't seem to be capable of anything but sitting there in front of her like a dead fish."

The three of them could barely stifle their chuckles. It wasn't a regular affair to see Sasuke so flustered.

"Have you tried relaxing a bit around her and just being yourself, Sasuke?" Sakura tried.

He made a face. "I _am_ myself with her."

"The you that we know and love," Ino beat Sakura to her reply, "or the son of a bitch that rest of Konoha absolutely detests? Other than the ladies who desire your pretty face, of course."

Sakura knew that Sasuke loved cheeky Ino. He appreciated her beyond words. Now though, he looked close to punching her in the face. Which did not deter the blonde at all, as she continued to tease him for a bit more while he tried to ignore her. Sakura personally thought he just didn't want to grant Ino the satisfaction of seeing him smile.

"I just don't want to make her miserable." He ran his hand through his hair. "And maybe this sounds selfish, but I really don't want to end up miserable because I'm stuck with someone I can't love as well."

"She _is_ your soulmate, though," Naruto interjected for this first time in the conversation. "Whatever happens, it should end up working out in the end."

Ino snorted. "Naruto, you and Hinata probably belong to the satisfied five percent of the world's population. It's not the same for everyone else."

Naruto looked almost upset by the notion. "That's not true! There are plenty of people who are happy!"

"And I agree," Ino returned calmly, "but that doesn't mean that they're the majority. You're the only one out of the four of us currently in a functioning relationship, and that makes you the exception, not the rule."

Naruto looked confused, and Sakura and Sasuke just stared at Ino with a bewildered, but scrutinising expression.

"Ino might not be completely in the wrong," Sakura began carefully, "but that doesn't mean that you have to be miserable either. You said she was trying, and I don't believe that you aren't, but maybe you should try a little differently."

"And possibly not by inviting another half a dozen people to what should have been your dinner date with her." Ino interrupted. Sasuke almost deflated.

Sakura looked thoughtful for a moment. "You could try being as open with her as you are with me. I think she'll appreciate a bit of attitude, she can go back and forth for hours. And she might be a bit rough on the edges too, but a little softness always works with a girl."

Ino was nodding and Sasuke sighed. "A little easier said than done, Pinky."

"But not impossible." She pinched his side. "And you'll get there, just take it one baby step at a time. Now," she directed her attention over to the girl sitting on his other side, "what on earth is your problem? You've been together practically since you started babbling, what could go wrong now?"

Ino's cheeky smile froze on her face for a fraction of a second. Then it turned almost sour.

"Well," she inhaled deeply, "Shika has another soulmate."

" _What?!_ " Naruto practically yelled, and Sasuke snapped up from his slouch on Sakura's shoulder, looking at Ino wide-eyed. Sakura felt her chest tighten.

"He does," Ino nodded. "Remember that blonde chick from Suna? The one with the huge fan? That's her. She even has the same tattoo as I do and she said the same first words to him and everything."

"Wait, wait," Naruto held his hands up, "Shikamaru's soulmate is the freaking _Kazekage's sister_?"

"The one and only," Ino let out a bitter laugh, "they found out during the Kage Summit."

"Ino, the Kage Summit was two months ago…" Sasuke murmured softly, and Sakura's eyes widened.

"You've known for that long?" she whispered. Ino nodded, her eyes starting to well up. "Why haven't you said anything?"

"You've been so down for so long, I didn't want to add to that. And then you were just beginning to finally get back to the old you and I just…"

"Don't you dare." Sakura was already crawling over Sasuke's lap to her friend. As soon as Sakura wrapped her in a tight hug, Ino's tears became uncontrollable.

"You do not hide your pain because I cannot deal properly with mine. I'm your best friend-" Ino squeezed her tighter, "- and you will let me be a good friend to you just like you've been for me, no matter what I'm going through."

"And you have the two of us as well," Sasuke supplemented, very firmly. "If that's you excuse, it doesn't hold with either of us."

"You know it, Ino-chan," Naruto nodded.

"I know, I know, it's just…" she trailed off, sniffling a little while Sakura dabbed at her cheeks with her sleeve.

"I felt too heartbroken to be able to be completely coherent. It's not her fault that Shika already has a soulmate and it's not his fault that it's one of those instant connections and explosion of feelings that he can't control. It would be so wrong to keep them apart just because I already exist but…" she started to hiccup, started to sob again.

"I just can't live with him having feelings for another woman," she cried and Sakura felt herself tearing up, "I can't live with him smiling at her and teasing her and, and- touching her and being so- so intimate with her the way he's supposed to only be w-with me."

Sakura just held Ino as she cried till her eyes were dry, her heart breaking for her friend.

"I'm sorry I've been so selfish," she whispered, running her hand over Ino's hair over and over, "You're my oldest friend. I should have known that you weren't okay, I should have seen it the moment you found out."

"That's alright," Ino whispered back, hugging her closely, "it's not your fault, Sakura. And you're still my best friend." She nudged Sakura's shoulder with hers, wiping her face dry. As soon as she could collect herself, she sat up straighter, though still leaning on Sakura a little.

"I'm meeting up with her tomorrow," Ino announced.

"Do you want us to go with you?" Sasuke immediately asked, sounding every bit as helpless as Naruto looked, springing up at the opportunity to ease her situation.

"No." She shook her hair firmly, sniffing. "No. This it between the two of us. We need to reach an agreement on this together. Shika doesn't even know we're meeting, we need to settle on a dynamic between the two of us before we can include him in the conversation, and we don't have much time before she has to go back to Suna."

Sakura nodded. The delegation from Suna on behalf of the Kazekage was only staying for three more days.

"We can meet up after?" she suggested instead, "you can sleep over at my place, and we can get that strawberry banana ice cream that you love so much and catch up on all the latest gossip."

"Sounds like a plan, Forehead," Ino giggled quietly, pressing her palms against her now sore eyes.

"I feel so stupid," Sasuke muttered, rubbing his neck uncomfortably. The two women half turned to look at him.

"Look at me bitching about not being able to make good conversation while you two are practically in tears because of how fate has been a right asshole to you."

"What does that make me, then?" Naruto snorted. "King of La La Land?"

"Suits you better than Hokage-sama," Sasuke returned and the girls laughed, their friend mock-scowling at them.

"Then you shall be upgraded to Bitchy Teme."

"And we're Ms. Deformed Threesome and Ms. Can't Locate My Soulmate?" Ino threw back.

"Don't joke about that!" Naruto cried, looking almost upset with himself.

"It's true, though," Sakura said with a soft smile.

"Maybe he's dead?" Ino asked.

"Nah, he can't be. She'd know," Sasuke answered her.

That was also true. Her Shishou had mentioned once how she felt a part of her was missing after Dan died. Sakura attributed it to her overflowing love for her dead fiancé. It wasn't until Kakashi got more tipsy than he usually would when they went out to celebrate returning from one dreadful mission that she started to believe otherwise.

She'd drunkenly declared that she decided her soulmate was long dead and buried. And he just fixed her with a hard look and told her she'd know for sure if he was. That she wouldn't be so carefree about it if she knew how it felt.

He told her about a girl named Rin. She was his soulmate, but he wasn't hers. His words never matched her tattoo, and she ended up being matched with their third teammate instead. He wouldn't tell her the details, but apparently a mission went bad because Rin wasn't focused months after her soulmate died. And Kakashi just knew she was gone miles and miles before he got to her.

" _Maybe you knew because you knew her too. But me, I don't know what this guy even looks like," she slurred, "he'll probably kick the bucket without me feeling as little as a tiny pinch."_

 _Kakashi just stared at her for what felt like hours._

" _Trust me Sakura-chan," he finally spoke, sounding a lot more sober than he should have been._

" _You'll know."_

"Maybe I wish he _was_ dead," Sakura declared quietly, her mind back in the present. Itachi's smiling face flashed into her head and she sighed.

"Maybe I wouldn't feel so guilty then."

She felt Ino sag against her. Saw Sasuke stiffen from the corner of her eye, and smiled as Naruto just decided to pretend he hadn't heard her. The poor thing would probably start crying if he thought about it too much.

"Seriously though, who _is_ happy with their soulmate?" Naruto's thoughtful look turned horrified in the span of a second. "Or are we all just going to become hopelessly miserable at some point?"

Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's distress. "My parents are actually very happy. Among many others, as you said."

Naruto scrunched his eyebrows together. " _How?_ "

"What do you mean how?"

"Teme, your father has the emotional capacity of a potato." Naruto deadpanned.

"Hey!" Ino whined. "Don't insult the potatoes."

"And don't insult my father." Sasuke was grinning, but he kicked Naruto in the knee anyway.

"He's a good husband, and a good father. A really good leader for the clan too. Itachi and I…" he trailed off for a few moments, "we have big shoes to fill."

Nobody said anything to that. But they all silently agreed. Uchiha Fugaku was known as many things, and a formidable Clan Head was on top of the list.

"When did you know that Itachi wasn't your soulmate?" Ino broke the silence suddenly.

Naruto looked panicked, but Sakura just smiled calmly at him. She'd been sulking so much for months that none of them dared to bring up Itachi's name in front of her. It didn't even occur to Sakura before that they really didn't know the details, just that things between them ended before they even started.

"It's okay Naruto," she said when he still looked ready to pounce on Ino and carry her away.

"It was one of those hot days, you remember that strange heat wave last year." Ino nodded silently.

"I managed to bully Pasty Face over here into a spar and we just went at it for a couple of hours."

She inhaled.

"And then we were lying there like molten jelly, and Sasuke was helping me up from the ground so we could go shower and suddenly he was right behind me."

She could remember it so clearly. She'd gasped as soon as she felt him, almost pressed against her back, her hand still in Sasuke's.

" _Your genjutsu is still in need of much improvement," she could hear the teasing smile on his face, felt his breath tickle her ear._

" _Perhaps I could interest you in some private training?" he'd continued in that cool, confident tenor. But she couldn't smile at his teasing. Couldn't turn around to face him for fear that she would burst into tears, being so close to him but unable to hold him in her grasp._

" _I'm sorry," she'd choked out instead, yanking her hand free of Sasuke's hold. "I need to go."_

She'd bolted across the village to her apartment after, too shocked to react. The sobs came later that night.

"I didn't hear what I expected to hear from him, and so I left," Sakura finished for them, Ino patting her back soothingly.

Sasuke, however, had a strange look on his face.

"That was the first time that you spoke?"

"Yeah," she nodded, giving him a puzzled look when his frown grew deeper.

"Is anything the matter?"

"No," he answered quickly, causing her to raise an eyebrow at his direction. "Nothing at all."

"Okay…" Sakura turned her head away from him and rested it on Ino's shoulder. They slipped back into silence before Sakura decided to sit up, a small smile on her face.

"You know," she started, "even if I don't end up with who I want, even if I don't find my soulmate at all, I'll still be happy. Because I have you," she looked at Sasuke then, "and Ino," Ino squeezed her hand, "and Naruto."

Her smile grew wider.

"And I love you. For all that you've done and all that I know you will do for me."

"We love you too, Sakura-chan," Ino whispered and hugged her again, and Sakura spread an arm behind her to grab at Sasuke's shirt.

He crawled over to her, hugging her back, and Naruto needed no invitation to envelop all three of them in a giant hug.

They stayed like this until voices interrupted them, and they barely disentangled from their unusually long group hug to see the two Hyuuga sisters climb up to the roof, a triumphant look on Hanabi's face.

"See! I told you!" she told her sister and skipped over to them.

"What are you all doing, hiding up here and leaving us with two weirdos downstairs for half an hour?" she was almost pouting adorably. Ino grinned and got up to steer her back down to the dining room, the rest of the group following.

"Sorry Hanabi-chan," the blonde quipped, "we needed to give your man his daily dose of mockery away from Neji. We'll initiate you into the Let's All Make Fun of Sasuke club soon, don't worry."

The younger girl perked up at that. Sasuke almost looked scared.

"How did you know we were up there, by the way?" he asked instead.

"Your chakra signature, idiot!" she looked at him in mock-horror. Kept on ranting about how the oh-so-confident Uchiha Sasuke wouldn't think of something so simple a pre-genin could know it. She'd only stopped in the middle of mockingly explaining how to conceal one's chakra when he dipped his head down and kissed her on the cheek.

She went from cheeky jokester to stuttering mess in an instant, the only reaction she seemed to be capable of producing is a blush and incomplete words. He grabbed her hand in his, ushering her forward with a soft 'come on', followed by three grinning girls towards a bored Shikamaru and slightly horrified Neji, who quickly ducked back into the room, much to their amusement.

Shikamaru met them at the door, wrapping an arm around Ino's shoulders. Looking back, Sakura could see his overly affectionate, almost apologetic gestures all night. Ino gave him a small smile and Sakura pushed the remaining couple behind them, telling them that she'll prepare them some tea.

Turning on the light in the kitchen, Sakura set on boiling the leaves while preparing the tea set. As the kettle started screeching, she turned around to take it off the heat, only to find a masculine form passing by the door.

He froze when he saw her, backtracking a step to stand by the shoji screen. They looked at each other blankly for a few moments, then Itachi's lips started to tug upwards.

Holding her hands over the pocket of her vest, where a small, folded piece of paper resided secretly, Sakura almost beamed at him.

And he gave her what might have been the largest grin she'd ever seen.

* * *

She almost skipped the entire way home, too overwhelmed by her giddiness to control herself. The day had been intense, but not even Ino's revelation could damper her mood. Not today.

Slipping into her apartment, Sakura quietly closed the door behind her so as to not disturb her elderly neighbour, and flopped back onto her bed as soon as she entered her bedroom. Not even bothering to take anything off besides her shoes.

Running a hand through her bubble gum hair, Sakura finally let the smile she'd been fighting for the past hour break free. Her hand unconsciously slipped into her pocket, unfolding the short letter. It looked almost worn, even though she'd only opened it a little over twenty-four hours ago. And even though it was burned into her memory by now, Sakura couldn't stop herself from reading it over and over again.

 _Sakura,_

 _I have always prided myself on being a man of my word. Every promise I've made has gone fulfilled – all but one._

 _I've promised myself, promised Sasuke, to try my best to leave you be. To help you move on instead of tying you down to what could be nothing more than wishful thinking. And every day, I did all I could to keep my distance, waiting for the day when the smiles graced your lips and your eyes shone with laughter once again. I tried so hard to let you be happy, and then perhaps my misery could have been repressed as well._

 _I have discovered, however, that I am more selfish than I ever made myself out to be. I cannot stop myself from longing for you; I feel a constant need to be the reason for your smiles, an unending desire to feel your happiness directed towards me, to hold you in my arms for hours on end and showing you all that I feel towards you. With no limitations, no judgement, no barriers between us._

 _You were not fated to be mine. But Sakura, if you are not my destiny, you are most definitely my choice. And as selfish as I am, know that I will stop at_ _ **nothing**_ _to ensure your happiness, to ensure that I will give you all that I can and more, that I will do all I can to be wholly yours as you are mine._

 _All I need is for you to tell me that you want the same. I will never attempt anything that is against your wishes, and if you want to wait for your other half, then you can pretend that this letter never existed. No matter how selfish I am, no matter how much pain it will cause, your happiness comes before mine. And if you wish for me to remain out of your life, I give you my word that I will. That is one promise I will never break. But if your heart desires the same as what I long for, then consider me already to be you lover, your companion, your partner through all the joys and hardships you will go through. Because I have been hopelessly and completely yours ever since I saw your smile._

 _I am eager for your response. But please take all the time you need to consider this thoroughly and carefully._

 _Itachi._

She read it over twice, her lips mouthing the words as she took them in, relishing the feel of her rapidly beating heart, of the fluttering inside her stomach.

Folding the paper again, Sakura slipped it underneath her pillow and hugged another one to her chest, stuffing her face in it in an effort to contain the girly squeals she was trying to keep at bay.

For the first time in months, Haruno Sakura could say that she'd gotten a night of tranquil, contented sleep.

* * *

Itachi couldn't keep the smile off his face.

He had to postpone his evening spar with Shisui because his cousin would have caught on to him straight away. That, and he wanted to relish the memory of Sakura's blinding grin.

He could only give her a quick nod before he scrambled away, fearing that he'd grab her and kiss her senseless in the middle of his kitchen for everyone in the house to see.

Instead, he locked himself in his room after sending a message to Shisui, planning his next steps. He had to make sure that Sakura did not face the brunt of the backlash they were going to get. He had to make her happy and safe at all costs, make sure he'll deal with all the obstacles he could expect with the best damage control.

All the thinking had left him famished, especially since he'd skipped dinner, and he groaned as he rolled off of his futon and made his way to the kitchen.

Even when he wasn't actively thinking about her, Itachi couldn't keep Sakura off his mind. Absently rubbing his lower back where his mark was tattooed, he thanked whatever deity up there that chose to put it on him in such a concealed spot. Sometimes it felt like a blessing that it wasn't always in his face, that it didn't constantly remind him of what he couldn't have or what he was about to do to anger his destiny's maker.

And maybe her first words to him weren't _'stay with me Itachi'_ , and maybe they would never even come out of her mouth, but it didn't matter anymore. Sakura was his now, and she would be staying with him for a long, long time if Itachi had any say in that matter.

Making his way down the stairs, Itachi almost sprinted towards the kitchen in his hunger, only managing to stop himself a split second before he collided with his brother.

* * *

The day had been more overwhelming that Sasuke had been ready for, but it had ended on a better note than he had expected. It was good having a more intimate interaction with Hanabi for a change. Even if her cousin had been red faced the entire time, looking torn between being relieved for his little cousin and grabbing Sasuke by the throat. Hanabi had almost latched onto him the entire night after, too. And he had to admit, having her hand in his for a prolonged period of time had felt… nice.

But even with his -very small- progress with Hanabi, and with their newfound distress for Ino, and with Sakura's apparently improving mood, something was still nagging in the back of Sasuke's mind.

He'd waited long enough, till after his guests had left and both of his parents had gone to sleep. But he knew Itachi was still awake, and he needed to confirm something with his brother.

But first, maybe they needed to fill that cavity that had been gradually widening between them for the past year.

He grabbed a plate of dango from the kitchen and made towards the stairs to get to his brother's room. But then Itachi came darting down the stairs and almost slammed square into him, making Sasuke blink in surprise.

Itachi looked almost guilty for a moment, as if Sasuke had caught him doing something he shouldn't have been doing, but he quickly composed himself, arranging his features to give him his usual blank expression.

Neither of them made a sound, then Itachi gave him a nod and made to duck around him as he'd been doing for a while, trying to avoid any further confrontation.

"Aa, nii-san!" Sasuke almost sputtered, stopping his older brother in his tracks. Itachi turned to face him, looking at him curiously.

Sasuke offered the plate of dango wordlessly, and it was Itachi's turn to blink as he reached out to pluck it out of his brother's hands.

"Thank you," he said anyway, still looking confused but with something akin to gratefulness in his eyes.

"Would you, ahh…" Sasuke began awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, "would you like to have a little spar tomorrow? It's… it's been a while."

His brother cocked an eyebrow, staring at him for a little longer before his lips curved in a small smile.

"I'm leaving on a mission in the morning," Itachi sighed, "but as soon as I get back? I'll leave my day off entirely open for you."

Sasuke grinned, nodding a few times like an excited child being offered candy. Itachi grinned in return.

"Thank you for the dango." He raised the plate slightly in Sasuke's direction and made his way back up to his room.

It felt almost as if a weight had been removed off of Sasuke's chest.

* * *

Her good mood had lasted for about two weeks. Then she started getting antsy.

Itachi had left the day after they bumped into each other in his house. She couldn't blame him for being away, but Sakura wasn't known for being very patient. And it seemed her patience wore even thinner when it came to that man.

It had been three weeks since he'd left, and while it had been just impatient excitement at first, Sakura had been feeling strangely uneasy for the past couple of days. She'd wake up with her heart in her throat, like she would after having a disturbing nightmare. She'd be on her rounds at the hospital, or at the bathhouse with Ino, or even sparring with her team, when suddenly her stomach would feel like it's in tightly coiled knots, make it effortful for her to breathe.

There was absolutely no reason she could find for her distress. Her friends were fine, the hospital was fine, they'd been doing well testing the bone-healing jutsu. Everything had been flowing in a good direction, and all that remained was for Itachi to return and claim her as he'd promised.

She was briefing a new nurse on her duties and who she was going to be shadowing for her training period, when she felt a disturbance towards the entrance of the hospital.

Curious, Sakura handed the girl the folder with her instructions and made her way towards the commotion. It was only when she was but ten steps away from it that she realised what was going on. And suddenly the knot in her stomach tightened so much that she felt her breath leave her entirely.

Standing in the middle of a makeshift circle of frantic medics was Shisui, barely able to support his body on what seemed to be an at least fractured leg.

Over his shoulder was a half-dead Itachi.

Feeling the bile rising in her throat, Sakura struggled to regain her breathing, to steady her shaking hands, and practically ran over to the two Uchiha.

* * *

Keeping his eyes open was a struggle. He'd been trying to remain conscious for the past half an hour, with absent encouragement from Shisui of _'just a little more'_ and _'almost there'_. But he'd been fighting for three days, and it was becoming a battle that he was very clearly losing. He felt the pulling sensation of being transported and almost fell off Shisui's shoulders as the older man's body could no longer hold him up.

Then suddenly, Itachi was being tipped backwards and his back was hitting a hard surface, several half-blurry faces looming over him.

" _Ambushed… Rain shinobi-"_

He could barely make out the voices. Didn't have the energy to care. But a splash of pink assaulted his vision and for a moment, he was almost alert again.

"… _poisoned three days ago-"_

"… _OR 4!"_

He could see her barking orders that he couldn't hear. Could see her eyes shift to his, desperately willing him to hold on for just a little longer. He tried to raise his hand, just to get his fingers to brush against her skin one more time. But his body had already given up on him hours ago, and he knew it.

"… _lost too much blood-"_

"… _going into shock!"_

" _We're losing him!"_

His eyes were open only a fraction now. And Sakura was still frantically trying to stabilise him, her chakra-infused hands resting on his chest, in her frenzy looking as if she was practically pushing her life force into him.

' _I'm sorry… I tried to love you…'_

He felt her slip away from him, saw her grab something somebody had offered her, then her hands were on him again.

The last thing her felt was her soothing chakra running through him and her voice ringing in his ears as his eyelids finally slipped close.

" _Stay with me, Itachi!"_

* * *

Well… there you have it.

Review please :'D


	4. Resolutions

_**A/N:**_ Don't kill me. I know this is so late but I got a job right after I posted chapter 3 and it's been so hectic… Seriously, with the exception of the first 2 paragraphs, this whole chapter was written at work. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

They worked on him for three hours. At least that's what she faintly heard Shizune say by the time they began stitching him up. Itachi's wounds weren't necessarily too deep, but they were too many. The poison in his body didn't help, either. They'd started sealing them as soon as they received him, only for them to open up again and bleed all over the place. It didn't take them long to realise that the poison was making him haemorrhage, making his internal organs bleed as well, and it was way too late for an antidote.

They spent those three hours dividing their efforts, Sakura and Shizune in charge of extracting the poison, three other medics scrambling to control the internal bleeding and the constantly reopening wounds. By the time they got him under control and felt his organs stabilise enough, they were all on the verge of chakra exhaustion and had no other choice but to leave some junior medics to stitch his wounds closed instead of mending his flesh with chakra.

Sakura had almost burned herself out completely. They'd tried to get her to rest multiple times; Shizune even tried to pry her off of him more than once but Sakura only attached herself to Itachi more, muttering an absent 'not yet' whenever Shizune approached her. She pushed her chakra into him even harder, just kept pushing and pushing and pushing till she felt him stabilise under her, felt herself calm down, and finally allowed herself to be pulled away from him.

She stumbled out of the OR, trailing after Shizune, and barely registered as Mikoto snapped out of her chair as soon as she saw them, or Fugaku's hand almost painfully clutching his wife's shoulder, or even why Hanabi was there, her arm wrapped securely around Sasuke's, fingers entangled with his. She left them to Shizune to update them on Itachi's condition and made a beeline for the bathroom, barely managing to make it to the toilet before the bile in her throat forced itself out.

Sakura didn't even realise she was crying until a saltiness broke through the bitter taste of vomit in her mouth. She didn't know whether it was the chakra exhaustion or seeing Itachi like this, practically _feeling_ him slip away from her, that caused her to empty the contents of her stomach completely, but she sat there on the floor, shaking and in tears until her stomach calmed down and her eyes dried out.

Managing to pull herself up, she slowly swayed towards the sink to wash her face and mouth, leaning with her hands on doors and walls the whole way lest she collapse again, then made her way back out into the corridor.

As soon as she was out of the door, Sakura found herself accosted by Sasuke, his arms wrapping around her so tightly that for a moment, she couldn't breathe.

"He's okay," Sasuke panted into her ear, "he's okay."

She nodded, her hands clutching his shirt and bunching it up in her palms, listening to him repeat the words over and over.

It felt like he was comforting himself more than he was comforting her, but Sakura knew that Sasuke could feel her distress, that he didn't care about its implications, only that his brother was alive and that Sakura herself was okay.

As they held each other in the corridor for more time than she felt pass, Sakura felt the tears spring up in her eyes again, and Sasuke dutifully held her through it.

* * *

Surprisingly enough, it didn't take much for Sasuke to convince his parents to go home and leave him with Itachi. His mother had raised an eyebrow at him when he requested for Sakura to be in charge of monitoring Itachi's recovery.

"She's the best." He felt the need to explain himself. His mother just shot him a long look before letting out a breath. They stayed for a while longer, checking up on Shisui as well, who was awake but under strict orders of bed rest, until they were sure that Itachi was stable but not going to awake anytime soon, and went home to rest at Sasuke's insistence.

Three days had passed since that day, and Sakura and Sasuke were almost glued to the chairs in Itachi's room by then. Itachi had woken up briefly a few times but was always too disoriented and slipped back into unconsciousness as quickly as he'd slipped out of it. Sakura made sure to avoid being in the room longer than necessary when anyone other than Sasuke was around but jumped back into the room at the earliest opportunity. She and Sasuke hadn't talked about her reaction after the surgery, but now Sakura could feel him almost burst with questions.

"I can hear you think, you know," she said finally. "I'm not going to break down, Sasuke, you can tell me whatever you need to say."

He didn't reply for a long time. Sakura thought for a moment that he had drifted off and hadn't heard her in the first place, but then he let out a resigned sigh and turned to her in his chair.

"I thought…," Sasuke started hesitantly, searching for the right words, "I thought that you were better… I'm not naive enough to think that you're over him with the way you were so attached to him, but just better."

"I thought I was, too." She twirled a lock of her hair around her finger, finding the pattern of the floor tiles particularly interesting at that moment.

"I think I was distracted enough to forget how much I wanted him in my life. Especially with how I didn't really run into him as much anymore. We were doing a good job of avoiding each other."

"What changed?" Sasuke's tone was gentle. As if he was scared that saying the wrong thing will turn her into a crying mess again.

"I…" She hesitated, her gaze sliding over to Itachi's resting form, then back to the floor.

"I felt him, Sasuke," she whispered. "I felt him slip away from me. I felt his heart slow down and almost stop, and I could feel my heart stopping with him. And it wasn't just because of how scary the whole thing was," Sakura added hurriedly when she saw Sasuke open his mouth to interrupt her.

"It's just..." she continued, slowly, "it wasn't clinical this time, somehow. It was as if I felt his heartbeat in my chest, and every time I felt it stutter, he suddenly got worse and we had to scramble to stabilise him again before we lost him. And I had to try so hard and keep it together because I felt like I was losing myself with him too…"

"Maybe you were just too emotional, Sakura-"

"I was not," Sakura interrupted firmly, raising her head to look him straight in the eye. "It was not because I was emotional. It was different. I can't explain it, but it _was_ different."

Sasuke stared at her with curious, scrutinising eyes. She held his gaze evenly, staring at him with eyes vibrant with defiance. He sighed.

"All of this past year," Sasuke started, "everything I've done- everything Shisui has done, was to make sure that you don't get hurt." His eyes shifted over to Itachi. "Neither of you."

"It hurt long before you knew, Sasuke," she muttered, "and it would've continued to hurt later. No matter how distracted we are, or who we are with. Even if we find ourselves with other people someday, there will still be something missing."

"You don't know that, though," he replied.

"I _do_ know that," Sakura retorted. "And don't ask me how I know that either, because I just _do_. Itachi is…" she hesitated for a moment, "he's… different. Special. And I think even if I do find my soulmate one day, a piece of Itachi and the connection that we have would remain inside me."

Sasuke sighed, running his hand over his face.

"What were you going to do?" he asked, his tone resigned.

Sakura shrugged. "He'll have to wake up and tell me."

He groaned.

"Soulmates are troublesome," he muttered, resting his head on the back of his chair, eyes closed.

"I thought things were better with Hanabi." Sakura cocked her head to the side. "Wasn't she here with you a few times? You seemed less awkward the few times I passed by you."

Sasuke cracked one of his eyes open, only slightly. Looked at her from the corner of his eye. "It's complicated."

"Complicated how?"

"Just complicated," he mumbled and turned his head away from her direction.

"Oh no you're not." Sakura got up, grabbed his face in her hands and turned back towards her, squishing his cheeks a little.

"Complicated ho- are you blushing?"

He turned his face and attempted to bite at her fingers. She flicked him on the nose.

"You're blushing!"

"I'm not blushing, Sakura." Sasuke swatted her hand away when she tried to flick his forehead this time.

"Yes, you are. What happened?"

"Stop it, Sakura," Sasuke sighed, "Itachi's sleeping."

"Oh, don't be a child." Sasuke shot her a look. "What happened? Did you kiss her?"

His eyes widened and Sakura almost jumped with glee. "You did kiss her!"

" _She_ kissed _me_ , just so you know," Sasuke grumbled.

"Too flustered from a kiss, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura teased. He snorted.

"I might have been if I hadn't already kissed _you_ when we were sixteen."

"Yes, that was quite a mess, wasn't it?" Sakura laughed and Sasuke rolled his eyes, though he was grinning at her still.

"Well, at least you liked it. Kami help you if you'd been stuck with an awful kisser." Sakura sighed dramatically.

"You kinda helped me lower my expectations, Haruno-" she elbowed him in the stomach, "so thank you." he continued, grunting slightly.

"I hate you." Sakura was pouting. He ruffled her hair, aggravating her further.

"Not after I get you that cup of coffee that you desperately need but have been too lazy to get." Sasuke got up, poking her one more time for good measure, and slipped quietly through the door.

Sakura shot a grateful look at his back, running a hand through her bubble gum locks to smooth them over. Itachi was still resting peacefully on the hospital bed, his chest rising and falling evenly with deep, healthy breaths.

It scared her to think about what would happen when he woke up. She might have been confident while talking to Sasuke about it, but inside, she was terrified. She didn't know what Itachi planned to do, and how accepting their friends and families might be of them. How supportive. Or what they had to give up… Sakura knew it would be hard, maybe even too hard for them to handle.

But it was worth it. _He_ was worth it, or at least that was how Sakura felt. She was not going to let a tattoo dictate her choices or her feelings, not anymore.

Sakura might have been scared of what was to come. But she couldn't wait.

* * *

The first thing Itachi felt when he started coming to was a strange commotion. The last thing he remembered was his breath leaving him on a hospital gurney, so the weirdly cheerful voices were a little strange to him. Although, they were too dimmed and far away for him to judge if they really _were_ cheerful, so far away as if he was listening to them from under water.

As suddenly as the voices came to him, they disappeared, drawing him back into silence, leaving him to try and gauge his surroundings.

His eyelids were still too heavy, but he was slowly peeling them open. He tried to call out to whoever it was that stayed behind in his room but could barely produce a groan. Apparently though, that was enough to alert the other occupant of the room to him rousing, and he could feel them cross the room hurriedly to his bed.

"Itachi?" he heard a soft voice murmur, gentle fingers brushing his forearm.

 _Sakura_

He managed to groan again, a little louder this time, letting her know that he was awake, and felt the mattress dip beside him, her hand moving over to his chest.

"Can you open your eyes?" Sakura whispered, and Itachi managed to open them a crack, glimpsing her hazy face hovering above him before he had to close his eyes again.

She was patient, slowly encouraging him to keep in blinking until his vision became clearer. Tired, but more focused.

The first thing Itachi really saw when he came to was Sakura's bright smile, her emerald orbs shining with relief. He tried to sit up, only to have Sakura lay her hand on his chest and push him back down.

"You still need to lie down a bit, or you might throw up," she explained, "does your throat feel dry?"

He nodded weakly, and she got up to fill a cup of water for him, then helped him tilt his head up and drink slowly, wiping away a few drops that managed to escape to his chin.

"Better?" He nodded again and she grinned at him, and Itachi found himself trying to smile in return. Her smile only got warmer.

"You'll probably feel groggy for a few more hours- your body hasn't gotten enough rest yet." He saw her slip into 'Doctor Mode', like he would sometimes when he'd hear her talk to Sasuke when she healed him after missions.

"The bleeding was too extensive, but we got it under control, thank Kami," she continued, "but we'll still have to put you on electrolyte replacement therapy for a little longer to replenish all the fluid and nutrients you lost. And maybe blood transfusion if your haemoglobin or platelet count is too low, but I think the chakra treatment did a good job of that so far and oh hell, why am I even rambling about all of this now."

Itachi had to grin -as much as he physically could- at that. Sakura was out of her clinical persona just as suddenly as she'd jumped into it, now looking so adorably flustered, her cheeks dusted a rosy pink and her hand busy twirling her hair nervously around her finger.

He wanted to kiss her.

"You really scared me, you know," she spoke quietly. "For a moment there I thought that I lost you and I didn't know what I would do…"

Her lips had curved down as she remembered, a sad frown growing on her face. Itachi slid his hand over to where hers rested, ran his thumb in small circles around the back of her hand. Her expression immediately brightened.

"I am… very happy that you are awake, Itachi," Sakura breathed, taking his hand in hers and squeezing lightly, letting out a small laugh when he squeezed back in reassurance.

"Sasuke's getting coffee, I'll go tell him." She shifted, getting up. "He'll be so relieved-"

His hand remained attached to hers, pulling her back lightly. She looked quizzically at him.

"Do you need something?"

' _You'_ , he thought.

"I can get Shisui too! He's a few rooms down, and we just gave him the okay to wander about a little-"

Itachi pulled at her hand again, cutting her off. Making her sit back down on the edge of his bed.

"Itachi?"

He tried to push himself up again, grunted when she tried to voice her disapproval until she sighed in resignation and adjusted the back of the bed so he could sit up properly. As soon as he did, Itachi grabbed her shirt, pulling her down onto him abruptly.

She fell onto him with a surprised grunt, letting out a soft _'oh'_ once he drew her into his arms. Itachi felt her stiffen for a moment, then his fingers were rubbing soothingly at her back, and she relaxed into his embrace.

They remained like this for a few short moments, awkwardly embracing before Sakura adjusted herself slightly and tentatively raised her hands to wrap around his chest. Her face tucked into his neck, the soft puffs of air from her breath warm on his skin.

Itachi held on to her as tightly as he could. He'd waited for so long just to catch a glimpse of her, to steal a touch, just a rushed brush of skin. But he didn't have to anymore. Because Sakura was his to touch and hold and love for as long as he lived.

The notion was still overwhelming.

He kept an arm wrapped around her torso, running his other hand through her soft tresses. Tugged on them gently. She pulled back a little and his fingers were instantly on her face, caressing her cheeks, thumb running over her nose, across her lips. Sakura watched him from beneath hooded eyes, unconsciously inching her face closer to his.

"Itachi," she sighed, nuzzling his palm, and he tightened his arm around her. He didn't think he'd ever tire from hearing his name on her lips.

He could feel her breath on his face now, tickling his mouth and pulling him to her as if by some invisible magnetic force. Cupping her face in his hands, he tilted her face up slightly and slowly pulled her closer, running smooth circles with his thumbs over her cheeks. She sighed again.

"May I kiss you?" he rasped out, his lips barely brushing against hers when he spoke.

"Hmm?" she mumbled, seemingly too intoxicated by his proximity to her to be fully aware of her surroundings.

Itachi kissed her cheek, planting a soft trail of kisses from her cheek to the corner of her mouth, lingering there expectantly.

"May I kiss you, Sakura?" he asked again, his voice clearer this time. He felt her nod absently then suddenly freeze, a soft _'what'_ escaping her mouth in a surprised whimper.

Then as abruptly as she'd fallen into his arms, she was pushing off of him, scrambling to stand beside the bed. He tried to reach for her, but she took a step back, her eyes wide in shock and fingers frozen over her mouth.

"Sakura-"

"I… what did you-" She gave a tiny shake of her head, backing off and almost bumping into Sasuke, who chose that moment to walk in with two cups of coffee in his hands. He smoothly stepped around her, nimbly placing the cups on a nearby table and approaching his friend slowly.

"Sakura, what-"

"Sakura, please," Itachi interrupted, extending his arm towards her. "We'll just talk."

But Sakura wouldn't listen. She just shook her head again and turned around, almost running out of the room.

Itachi's shoulders dropped as he watched his brother close the door after her, the younger man sighing tiredly.

"What did you do, Itachi?"

He could clearly read Sasuke's expression; torn between relief at his brother's awakening and exhausted exasperation at his relationship with his best friend.

Itachi gulped.

"She's mine, Sasuke…"

"I guessed as much," Sasuke snapped, "but what did you _do_? She was perfectly willing to comply with whatever you had planned before you woke up. That didn't look like willing to me."

"No, Sasuke, you don't understand, she…" Itachi took a breath, quelling down the butterflies fluttering aggressively in his chest lest he start grinning like an idiot in front of his brother.

"Sakura's _mine_ ," he finally admitted. "She's my soulmate."

Sasuke froze, his eyes bugging out of their sockets. Itachi almost laughed.

"What did you tell her?" Sasuke asked hesitantly. Itachi looked down at his lap.

"Itachi, what did you say?" Sasuke urged.

"I asked for permission to kiss her," he replied quickly. His face was getting warm. He resisted the urge to press it into a pillow like a bashful teenager. In front of his younger brother, no less…

The same brother that let out a short, incredulous laugh. Itachi looked up to find him grinning disbelievingly.

"Shit," Sasuke laughed again, running a hand through his hair.

"Shit."

* * *

It was Sasuke who eventually explained the whole thing to both of them. Or at least he told Sakura that he talked with his brother about it.

"Okay, so let me try to understand this one more time," Naruto began. "He came over behind you after you finished sparring with Sasuke and picked on him because of his genjutsu, yes?"

"Yes, Naruto," Sakura sighed.

"And you thought he was actually teasing you and his words were all wrong, yes?"

"Yes, Naruto."

"And then you babbled an excuse to Sasuke-"

"To no one in particular."

"-to no one in particular," he continued, paying no mind to the interruption, "and ran off and he thought you were also talking to him then?"

"For the fifth time, yes, Naruto!" Sakura snapped, her patience running thin. "Why do you keep on asking over and over?!"

"Because I'm trying to look for a scenario in which two of the smartest people in our village are not complete idiots!" He cried in return, just as irritated. "Because I thought I was the pea-brain in this group, but honestly, Mr. and Mrs. Moron here take the cake!"

"Naruto!" Sakura spluttered, unsure whether she should be amused or offended. Beside her, Sasuke tried -and failed- to conceal a snort of mirth.

"And you spent a whole year after without saying one word to each other? _How_ do you even do that? For a whole freaking year? I would've thought you at least had a half-decent discussion regarding your feelings. But nooo," he waved his arms around dramatically, "you just spent a year making googly eyes at each other and being all angsty because of it."

Sakura looked irked. "It wasn't just googly eyes, okay? We had a connection."

"That you did absolutely nothing about except cry and brood." Naruto pointed out. "Assuming you really didn't turn out to be soulmates, you didn't even get proper closure.

"Do you have any idea how badly Teme here has been moping?" he continued, "this really affected him too, you know."

"I do not _mope_." Sasuke interjected. Naruto ignored him.

"He'll never admit it, but he's been hurting a lot because both of you were in so much pain, two people who are very important to him." Sasuke shot him a dirty look. Naruto ignored him again. "And he's been really supportive through all of it too."

"Yeah, he's a good Teme." Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck, mumbling a soft apology into his shoulder.

"Don't call me that," Sasuke muttered, though half-heartedly, but didn't push her away.

"Well what are you going to do about it now?" the blond asked. Sakura sighed.

"Well, I should probably offer you guys a better apology for this past year. I can treat you to some ramen. And I really need to apologise to Ino too-"

"Not about this," Naruto moaned in exasperation. He looked just about ready to punch her in the face.

"About Itachi? You know, the one who's finally your soulmate?"

"Oh," Sakura muttered, "umm… I don't… know."

The blond looked scandalised.

"She ran out when he said the words," Sasuke explained. Their friend looked ready to cry.

"You've been so desperate for him then you run out on the poor man as soon as you find out you can have him?" Naruto wailed. "What is wrong with you?! Now he's even more confused!"

"Actually, he knows," Sasuke cut in. "He knew before he passed out at the hospital."

"He did?" Sakura blinked in surprise. Sasuke nodded.

"He says you told him to stay with you?"

"Huh?" She wracked her brain for that specific memory, seemingly having no recollection of it. Then it suddenly clicked.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "I was just… I was just trying to keep him from losing consciousness."

"Well, that was it," Sasuke shrugged. "He just didn't get a chance to tell you after he said… you know," he finished lamely.

Sakura was silent after that, and the boys didn't push her. Though she could feel their expectant eyes on her the whole time.

"Is he mad?" she asked quietly. Sasuke sighed.

"He's not mad. And he's not upset either. He understands that it was a bit of a shock to you and is giving you some space," he explained.

"But," he continued before she could respond, "you should talk to him. It's been a week, and he won't push you or come find you, but I know he's starting to feel anxious."

When she didn't respond again, she felt Sasuke nudge her with his elbow.

"He's home now. Shizune discharged him last night. My father's not home and my mother will only be too glad to let you two talk this out. So, go to him," he encouraged and Sakura felt herself nod.

They watched her silently as she got up, shuffling out of Naruto's living room. She heard Naruto sigh behind her, muttering something under his breath that made Sasuke kick him -or at least she thought he did- and tell him to stop being too annoying.

She paid them no mind, closing the door to the apartment behind her and taking a deep breath, her feet already moving in the direction of the Uchiha compound.

* * *

Sakura reached the main house about half an hour later, choosing to walk there instead of sprinting across the rooftops.

It took less than a minute for Uchiha Mikoto to open the door for her, the woman not seeming surprised at all to see her. In fact, it appeared as if the Uchiha Matriarch had even been expecting her.

"He's in the garden," was what the older woman said before she turned and headed to the kitchen, a tiny smile playing on her lips.

Sakura hesitated a little, rolling her shoulders. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't shaking nervously on the inside. But she was here now, and her walk here had given her ample time to calm down.

She found him near the edge of the garden, sitting cross-legged in a meditative pose, seemingly basking in the warm spring sunlight.

Sakura forced herself to keep her balance. In a mesh shirt and loose black pants, looking so serene, he was absolutely breathtaking.

Before she could let some of her chakra seep out to alert him of her presence, he opened one eye and his lips stretched into a small smile.

"You don't need to do that," he said in that smooth tenor that almost made Sakura run back into the house to collect herself, "I could feel you as soon as you entered the compound."

Sakura smiled wryly. "Is that an ANBU captain thing?"

Itachi opened his other eye, smiled at her more fully. "More like a soulmate thing."

Her smile faltered somewhat. Itachi got up and reached his hand out to her.

"Come here," he asked gently, and Sakura could feel her legs carry her over to where he stood. He took her hand in his and led her to a shaded spot by the small pond. Itachi sat with his back to the wall, his legs spread out in front of him. Sakura plopped down in front of him, her legs tucked underneath her.

"I'm…" she started hesitantly, running a nervous hand through her hair, "I'm sorry that I left like this. And that I didn't come back after, that…" She took a breath. Exhaled shakily. "That wasn't very pleasant of me. Or considerate. I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologise," he assured. "I know it was quite the surprise for you."

"Yeah, I didn't really expect this to be the way my soulmate gets revealed to me."

"Oh really?" Itachi's eyes glinted with amusement. "Your soulmate's first words are a request to kiss you and you didn't expect them while he was actually in an intimate position with you?"

A laugh bubbled out of her before she could stop herself. She felt her face flame up and covered it with her hands.

"Oh Kami," she laughed, her voice muffled by her hands. She rubbed her forehead, looking over at him.

"When you put it like that…" she blushed harder when she saw his chest vibrate with laughter, a low chuckle that sounded like music to her ears.

"I guess I was too preoccupied to think of that properly," Sakura threw back at him, saw his eyes widen briefly before he laughed again.

She missed that happy smile on his face.

Their laughter subsided shortly after, and they found themselves staring back at each other. Their gazes nervous, slightly curious. But full of tenderness, and a hint of longing.

"I don't want to rush," Itachi spoke first. "I know we've both been wanting this for a long time, and maybe we were fated to wait…"

He sighed softly, then continued, "fate might have been immensely cruel, but perhaps this was the only way for us to say the right words. And while I was willing to do whatever it took to be with you regardless, I'm glad we did."

"I'm really happy that you're my soulmate," Sakura admitted weakly, "because I knew that this was more than just passing attraction, and I'm happy that we can start building up on what we have now… freely."

Somehow, her hand had found its way to his leg while she was speaking, and it now rested on his knee, her fingers unconsciously rubbing circles over it. He reached over and tangled his fingers with hers.

"We'll take our time," Itachi promised squeezing her hand, "I'll get to know you. All of you. So I can love all of you properly."

"Yes…" Sakura's voice was breathy even to her own ears. Itachi tugged her hand forward and she got up on her knees, crawling over to him.

He drew her onto his lap, bending his knees so he could envelop her body completely. Sakura happily snuggled into him.

A few minutes of him cuddling her close to his chest and playing with her hair had her huffing out a laugh.

"This feels just…" she trailed off.

"Just right?" Itachi finished for her.

"Yes!" She nodded happily, her voice full of wonder.

Itachi's hands trailed up her back and neck to hold her face, drawing her back from him. Just a little bit.

His features were arranged into that smile that made her insides melt. And he watched her for a few long moments, his fingers lightly caressing her face.

"You're so beautiful when you smile," he murmured, grazing the skin right above her lips with his thumb. Sakura felt her lips stretch as she beamed at him. Itachi pulled her close once more, nuzzling her forehead with his nose. Then tilting her face up to be in line with his.

"May I?" he whispered and Sakura felt her heart stutter.

She sat up on her knees, her hand finding their way up to rest on his chest, leaning closer.

When her lips touched his, Sakura could almost swear that she felt his heartbeat inside of her, beating perfectly in tandem with hers, fluttering and quickening in pace as their lips met over and over.

Itachi buried his fingers in her hair again, his other hand stroking her back as his lips moved slowly against hers, soft and smooth and perfect.

Sakura pecked his lips one more time, then lightly pressed a kiss to his cheek, leaning back an inch so she could look into his eyes.

"Always."

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Well that's the end of it folks… Not really, there's an epilogue. This is too cheesy of a note to end the story on. Not too cheesy to end the chapter on, though. I'm not too happy about this chapter, but if I'd kept on overthinking, it would never get posted. So I'll do better in the epilogue (hopefully) Please Review! ^_^


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